Koko has thrown his lot in with Hart and the First Family, thus beginning the amazing heel Koko Ware run (and soon-to-be even more amazing heel team with Bobby Eaton). There actually wasn't a ton of Koko in this, but it was a super fun 10 minutes and really how could it not be with those participants? Dutch tried to jump Koko at one point and I'm not sure Koko expected it because he fucking HURLED himself out the ring to safety. Jimmy was so good in this. Obviously he had no intention of getting in there unless the deck was stacked completely in his favour. That happens once where he puts the boots to Dundee, then Bill comes back at him and Hart is out of there like a shot. There were three or four instances where the babyfaces just ran around to that side of the ring and Jimmy leaped over the fucking announce desk while Lance got peeved at it all.
Sweet Brown Sugar & Dream Machine v Rick & Robert Gibson (Memphis, 9/26/81)
Koko has now started going by Sweet Brown Sugar. Koko's the first Sweet Brown Sugar I was ever aware of in the world of professional wrestling and naturally I fell in love immediately, so there have been many disappointing realisations over the years when perusing tape lists that Skip Young was also going by Sweet Brown Sugar down in Florida (and to be fair to Skip, he was the first Sweet Brown Sugar). I cannot articulate my joy at finding a tag match with Tenryu and Ashura Hara against the Destroyer and Sweet Brown Sugar. Neither can I articulate my despondency upon realising it was Skip Brown Sugar and not Koko. No offence intended to our man Skip. Anyhow, this was another really fun 10 minutes. Jimmy Hart is running around with a big stick, wearing a yellow jumpsuit like Uma Thurman. He got under Rick Gibson's skin so deep that Gibson would outright chase him away from ringside repeatedly, often to the point where he'd lose sight of Koko and Dream Machine entirely. Sometimes that even left Robert alone to be beaten on. Jimmy was hilarious trying over and over to come back out from the curtain like your little brother when yer ma keeps sending him back to tell you it's HIS turn on the PlayStation.
Sweet Brown Sugar & Stan Lane v Bill Dundee & Roy Rogers (Memphis, 10/3/81)
You know, we always talk about Koko/Eaton being the lost Midnight Express, but Koko/Lane might just be the lost Heavenly Bodies. There are only so many ways to say "this was a fun 10 minutes" but what can I tell you, this was a fun 10 minutes. Koko was pinballing around off amazing Dundee punches, including one coming off the ropes where it looked like Dundee was trying to jam his fist through the back of Koko's head. Koko also gets mad height on those fist drops and I love that he'll make a beeline straight for the tag whenever things are getting a little out of hand. Jimmy Hart running around gibbering like an idiot prompting Lance to mutter "aw go and siddown, Hart" was also perfect.
Sweet Brown Sugar v Jerry Lawler (Memphis, 10/5/81)
Aw man I wish we had this in full. We only get five minutes of it and honestly, what was actually shown made it look like one of the greatest 5-minute matches ever - and it was spliced together well enough that I could believe it only went seven - but I'm pretty sure they announced at one point that 15 minutes had gone and really it's a travesty that we don't have them. Still, I will reiterate that what we saw of it ruled like a bastard. Koko is spectacular here, really playing to the arena crowd by being the sort of shithead you could see alllll the way in that back row. When Lawler tries to backdrop him Koko flips out like fucking Tiger Mask, getting more height than even Sayama would, then does the most amazing little celebratory jig you've ever seen. Lawler tries several times to punch him and Koko ducks, dodges and dances each time, Lawler getting more and more irritated with every miss. I've lost count of how many times I've mentioned the Koko Ware dropkick, and I mentioned it all those times with good reason, but I think because that thing was SO good I almost forgot that Koko was also an unbelievable puncher. He would avoid those Lawler punches and tag him back repeatedly and it was just brilliant heat-building. When Koko lands on his feet and starts dancing off the fourth backdrop attempt Lawler rips down the strap then and there and fucking obliterates Koko with a right hand mid-2-step! It wasn't the big comeback, Koko hadn't done enough where one was warranted yet, it was just a moment of rage boiling over, like Thor calling on the hammer to clobber a shoplifter. Probably unnecessary in the grand scheme of things, but play stupid games you win stupid prizes. Koko running through a bunch of Lawler signature spots after that was amazing. The level of difficulty on making Jerry Lawler signature punches look good must be through the roof, yet here was Koko hitting a top rope fist drop and the kneeling punch flurry and I'll be damned if they never looked great. Truly a testament to our man Koko. And then obviously Lawler paid him back and even if all those 'Purple Rain' covers are cool and everything there's nobody who can do it quite like the one and only.
Sweet Brown Sugar & Stan Lane v Ricky Morton & Eddie Gilbert (Memphis, 10/10/81)
This was perfect Memphis studio wrestling. What I think Memphis did better than any territory during the 80s was blend angles and interviews and matches into a seamless singular package, all on TV. Before the bell here Jimmy Hart was going IRATE about something to do with Jerry Calhoun, long-time Memphis referee. I honestly don't remember anything about the Hart/Calhoun feud from around this time but pretty soon Calhoun comes out shirtless, Lawler by his side, and seconds later Hart and Calhoun are rolling around shirtless taking wild windmill swings at each other. That lit a fire under the audience so they were hot for the eventual match. And the match itself was a wonderful eight minutes, really just the best sort of TV wrestling. It's a bit more traditionally structured than your hectic studio bout so we get defined segments. The first third was mostly about Morton and Gilbert controlling and they did it with a vice grip on Stan Lane's arm. There was one extended hammerlock segment where Lane would keep trying to shake them only to get dragged back into it, hitting a slam while Gilbert still has his arm hammerlocked, Gilbert refusing to release and rolling through to maintain it. Morton and Gilbert make quick tags while passing the hold between one another and it was all nifty stuff. Eventually we go into Morton in peril, and in case anyone's wondering Ricky Morton was already fucking great by 1981. The transition ruled with Morton knocking Koko off the apron as the latter tried to interfere, turning around into Lane's diving headbutt to the gut. Lane hits a nice gutwrench suplex and has this cool takedown clothesline, like an STO without the leg sweep. Koko holds Morton in an abdominal stretch so Lane can karate kick him in the ribs and Stan Lane also ruled in case anyone was wondering. There was one amazing Morton hope spot where Koko backed him into the corner and Morton hit this upkick/dropkick thing that nearly decapitated Koko. Koko pulling a chain out and clocking him with an A+ punch was of course awesome. I'm repeating myself, but Koko and Lane were so good together.
Sweet Brown Sugar v Rick Gibson (Memphis, 10/17/81)
Okay what in the fuck? As far as eight-minute studio matches go this was six and a quarter stars. With a couple more minutes and a proper finish it might've achieved studio match royalty. Koko had folk on strings before the thing even started by trying to flip into the ring and landing on his arse Whether it was deliberate or he really did fluff the landing I'm not sure, but does it really matter when you have their attention from the jump? When it started properly he was incredible taunting and dancing like an idiot, in much the same way as against Lawler. This was possibly even better in fact, because the camera was right there and you could see more clearly the annoyance on Gibson's face, and more importantly the joy on Koko's. Koko was shuffling and shadow boxing and when Gibson took a swing at him Koko went to the ref' like "hey watch that fist there, partner." Koko's exaggerated head bob while leaning against the ropes was genuinely funny stuff. They do a double dropkick spot that allows Gibson to briefly take over, but then a minute later Koko is back to avoiding getting hit and chicken dancing like a prick. It was amazing and Gibson hit him with one punch that really did not look pulled. I think Koko might've worked the worker! After a few nice exchanges Koko takes over when Gibson goes shoulder-first into the post and from there Koko goes to THE CHAIN~. I guess everyone who worked Memphis for any reasonable amount of time just got great at hiding the foreign object shtick? In the end the match gets thrown out when Jimmy whacks Gibson with a stick, but we don't have time to rest as a post-match brawl kicks off with the First Family and Lawler and Jerry Calhoun arriving. And I'll be fucked if I'm not ready to lay down some hard-earned cash for a Jimmy Hart v Jerry Calhoun match.
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